When I'm making fudge I also use the soft ball test,but I'm not as good when it comes to had ball or crack stage. I have yet to make a single batch of peanut brittle successfully, no matter whether I use cold water or the thermometer. I use the frozen plate test for jelly. I used the thermometer when I first started making long cooked jams without commercial pectin, just to give me a clue of when I was getting close to jell stage. I can tell pretty much by the way the stuff looks now but if I'm trying to teach someone else to do it, I use the thermometer. However, I mostly use the thermometer when deep frying, to tell me when the oil is at 350 or 375 or whatever temperature I want to cook at. A Thermapen would be nice but the original poster said a "reasonably priced" thermometer and I don't think the $100 or so for a Thermapen is at all reasonable. They're nice, I know, but they're pricey! Annie

You might have the best luck on the Thermapen site. They're closing out the old model in favor of a new waterproof one, but I think the old model is just fine for kitchen use. I'm not planning to take it into the shower. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Thermoworks

Was it toffee candy? Or toffee cookies? "Toffee Squares" is a name usually associated with bar cookies. They have quite a bit of flour in them, being cookies. Like as much, or nearly as much, as the butter plus sugar. Most have a chocolate topping, but it's not necessary. Most of the rest call for a dusting of sugar, but powdered sugar would do as well. OTOH, if it was real, plain toffee, that hardens to a snap, then it has to be boiled. That's what transforms the butter and sugar into candy. You don't need a candy thermometer--you can just go to "coats a spoon" and it'll work--though a thermometer prevents the "why didn't it work?" issues that occasionally waste a pound of butter. Here's a cookie recipe with no chocolate, but with cinnamon (omittable) for a Christmas flavor: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe161.english-toffee-squares.html There are also a number of cake-mix based pecan toffee bar recipes out there.

Italian Saba. Just picked up a bottle being on sale. I've been using a burnt batch of maple syrup and almost out of it. (actually really good if i want a caramel-ish dolup) in a sauce or stew... "Saba -- also known as sapa, vin cotto or mosco cotto -- is an Italian syrup made from cooking down grape must. It looks just like balsamic, and tastes a whole lot like it too, but it's not nearly as expensive because it isn't aged. Chefs have begun incorporating saba into their menus over the past couple of years, and it's time home cooks did the same." I'll test it tonight.